the idea is to create a wide ranging memory trove that can last forever and be shared. >> all right. stay with us. "news 4 today" continues now at 5:00 a.m. mitt romney and president obama reaching out to bases in virginia as they try to build momentum after their first debate. good morning, everybody. i'm karen gilchrist. >> and i'm eun yang. welcome to "news 4 today" for this friday, october 5th, 2012. we're looking for a delightful day today, but some big changes are coming. >> let's just look at today. right now off to a clear and chilly start. we had the lower humidity move in while you were sleeping, and what a delightful start to this friday, a clear sky. the moon and jupiter in the southern sky.

bright venus now rising, and a gorgeous morning under way. it is certainly feeling autumnal. all those areas in dark green are in the 50s. the light green, generally low 60s. that includes areas right around the chesapeake bay and parts of areas just east of washington and the eastern shore. but much of virginia, much of maryland into west virginia, it's in the 50s, even a few spots here in the highlands. these areas in blue are in the 40s this morning. all around our region today, the low humidity in place. it is just going to be delightful. by 6:00 a.m., though, still a chill in the air, in the 50s. by noontime, with bright sunshine into the upper 70s with low humidity. by the way, sunrise a little bit later at 7:08. the sunsets getting earlier, they're at 6:44. before then, we will reach the low 80s by midafternoon with low humidity and lots of sun. a wonderful day coming up. then this evening it looks like we'll have a clear sky, and the big changes roll in after that. hour by hour forecast, as well

as a hometown forecast in ten minutes. a look at your first 4 traffic early this friday morning with danella. good morning. >> good morning. checking the roadways for you. if you're making the commute along the rails, nice and clear. metro, marc, vre, not reporting delays at this time. over to the roads, let's head up to i-270. if this is your commute this morning, things look nice and clear. we'll fly over together. heading out of frederick, really south and northbound, travel lanes are open. you can see here, nothing but green. nothing slowing you down. not seeing any road work as you continue towards the gaithersburg area and even make the trip to rockville. no issues to report at the spur and connecting to the beltway. a live camera at the beltway. you're traveling issue free. aaron, over to you. >> thank you, danella. decision 2012 now comes to virginia today as both candidates try to earn some votes in the critical swing state. president obama will visit with students at george mason university in fairfax this morning while mitt romney will be in coal country at a

machinery company in abbingdon. the president trying to get his campaign back on track after what pundits called a poor debate performance. yesterday he took aim at the change romney is promising during a rally at the university of wisconsin. >> fame, top down economic policies that got us into this mess. that's not a jobs plan. it's not a plan for our economy. it's not a plan to strengthen the middle class. it is not change. it is a relapse. >> this is the second day in the commonwealth for mitt romney. yesterday he and running mate paul ryan were both in fishersville outside charlottesville, where they got the endorsement of the national rifle association. they also tried to build some momentum on that debate from wednesday and did more attacking of the president. >> i got the chance to ask the president questions that people across the country have wanted to ask him, such as why is it that he pushed obama care at a time when we had 23 million people out of work?

>> later today, romney will head to another swing state, florida, for a rally in st. petersburg. >> with fresh momentum from the debate, the former governor is also trying to distance himself from controversial comments caught on camera. romney appeared on the sean hannity show on fox news last night. he said his comments about the 47 percent of americans who don't pay income tax did not come out right and were, quote, just completely wrong. in that video which surfaced last month, romney said 47% of americans consider themselves victims and don't take personal responsibility. he originally defended the comments, saying they weren't elegantly stated. there was anticipation ahead of september's jobs report. analysts are predicting the economy handed 115,000 to 125,000 jobs last month. that's better an the disappointing 96,000 jobs last august. the unemployment stands at 8.1%. now to a developing story. public health officials warning people in our area about a

contaminated steroid suspected in a deadly meningitis outbreak. that steroid came from a medical center in massachusetts. the steroid was sent to 75 different facilities in 23 states, including 9 facilities in maryland and virginia. it's for patients suffering from back pain. officials are warning people who received that steroid injection to keep a close eye on possible symptoms. people with meningitis can have fever, worsening headache, neck stiffness. other problems with their neurologic system. they can have shock, and they can have death. >> so far, five people have died from the infection, including one in maryland and onen virginia. maryland has released the names of the clinics that received the drug. to see that list, you can go to nbcwashington.com and search for the key word "meningitis." 5:05 now. a man is in serious condition this morning after jumping from a burning three-story building in northwest washington. the fire broke out inside an apartment complex at "k" and

first streets at 6:00. it left part of the building scorched on the outside. we're told the victim jumped before firefighters arrive. crews had to rescue three others trapped inside. they're also in the hospital and are expected to be okay. the cause of the fire is under investigation. this morning police are investigating an alleged sexual assault involving a d.c. jail guard. an inmate claims it happened back in august. a spokesperson for the d.c. department of corrections confirmed there is an investigation. she would not comment on the guard's current work status or whether the guard is male or female. there is an intense search for a missing teen in fairfax county. for a second day, police officers along with helicopter crews searched base park off picket road for any sign of brian glenn. the 17-year-old was last seen'droing oseen seen'dropping off his younger brother at w.t. wood side school. shortly thereafter, they saw him at dunkin do nuts. evidence technicians are going

through his cell phone and computer for any hints where the teen might be. melissa mollet with new information on breaking news out of israel. >> good morning. new reports that an american tourist who shot and killed a worker at a hotel there was recently fired from that hotel. it started, they say, with an argument in the kitchen of the leonardo club hotel. the man snatched the security guard's gun and shot one person, a man in his 50s. the man barricaded himself inside and was killed by an anti-terrorism unit. police say evidehe was in his 2d possibly on an intern ship there. what bee keepers are blaming for this unusual color bees are producg. [ male announcer ] for the dreamers...

and those well grounded. for what's around this corner... and the next. there's cash flow options from pnc. solutions to help businesses like yours accelerate receivables, manage payments, and help ensure access to credit. because we know how important cash flow is to reaching your goals. pnc bank. for the achiever in you. e. pnc bank. the middle class, who move our country forward. work hard. raise families. and keep america strong. but mitt romney's budget plan will hurt the middle class.

raising taxes on the average family by up to $2000 dollars. while giving a tax break of $250,000 dollars to multi-millionaires. doesn't mitt romney understand, we can't rebuild america...by tearing down the middle class. priorities usa action is responsible for the content of this advertising. what looks like a footprint on the surface of mars is actually a treadmark left by nasa rover curiosity. the rover took the picture on its way to scoop up some of its

first bit of martian soil. this is a test scoop done here early on in a lab in california. the soil samples collected by curiosity will be crucial in determining if the red planet ever supported life. it is scheduled to make that first scoop in the next two or three weeks. >> does nasa have evidence that it's not a footprint? >> that's a good question. that's an excellent point. 5:11. time for weather and traffic on the ones. storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein with a gorgeous day ahead. hi, tom. >> off to a chilly start. 50s much of the region under a clear sky. including hagerstown, our hometown forecast location. by 7:00 a.m., bright sunshine, mid-50s. by noontime, near 70, bright and sunny. for the entire region today, we will have low humidity in place. afternoon highs, low 80s. lots of sun and a blue sky. a delightful day. a look at tonight, the weekend, and into next week. big changes on the way. that's in ten minutes. how's traffic now, danella? checking out things along i-95 in virginia, what i'm doing

is looking for accidents, road work, delays. travel lanes are open. here's a live look as you make your way past triangle and continue towards the beltway in both directions, no incidents. connecting to 395, nice and clear as you head northbound on edsall, even southbound between the beltway and 14th street bridge, you're clear. aaron and eun, back over to you. 5:12 now. 63 degrees. no ordinary political debate. the two well-known people preparing to face off in d.c. also

breaking news. a 15 square mile wildfire northwest of seattle,

washington, is threatening over 100 homes. the fire tearing through acre after acre as crews struggle to keep it contained. the fire started yesterday and quickly grew as firefighters are sending in bulldozers while firefighters drop fire on hot spots. the state has now issued a statewide burn ban until october 13th. at the live desk, melissa mollet, news 4. a family of six is thanking complete strangers after jumping to their rescue during an apartment fire. a security tape captured rescue in new jersey. one by one, the family jumped from their third floor apartment to the rescuers on the ground. the oldest daughter was the first to make the leap. she broke her toes but didn't care because she was alive. >> i was so scared. i don't even know. i said, i'm just going to land up here, and if i fall. >> i was afraid at first because i thought nobody was going to catch me. >> no severe injuries for all

six. the family had just moved into the apartment the day before the fire and did not even have electricity yet. firefighters believe a candle started the fire. the family was using it for light. police in san antonio, texas, trying to figure out what caused the driver to lose control of a school bus, sending it off an interstate overpass. the bus went through a concrete barrier and crashed just inches from the hotel below. this happened during the afternoon rush. police say two adults and one child were hurt, but their injuries are not severe. united nations officials are worried syria's civil war could soon grow into a regional conflict. the turkish military continues to attack syrian military positions and could soon send troops into the country. the prime minister now has the authority to launch large scale military operations, including ground troops, if he deems it necessary. syrians have responded to the attacks, firing back and killing at least five people near the border. federal authorities say they're looking into the possibility that friendly fire

killed a u.s. border patrol agent. agent nicholas ivy was killed and another injured this week along the arizona-mexico border. police arrested two men who could be connected to the incident. the agents were responding to an alarm that was going off near the border when the shooting started. secret service agents have stricter policies in place following the colombia prostitution scandal. agents cannot drink within ten hours of reporting for duty, and for the first time, agents must sign nondisclosure agreements. several agents were fired or resigned after they allegedly partied in prostitutes in colombia last april, ahead of the president's visit to that country. a member of the manson family could soon be a free man. a california corrections board recommended parole for bruce davis. the 70-year-old was sentenced to life in prison for murdering two people in 1969. california governor jerry brown now has four months to review the recommendation. davis originally was granted parole in 2010 but then governor

arnold schwarzenegger revoked the ruling. 5:18 is our time right now. more seat repairs could have your american airlines flight cancelled today. the airline announced yesterday it would again ground 48 planes to make more repairs. that caused 50 flights to be cancelled yesterday. another 44 to be cancelled today. initially a faulty clamp was blamed for the problems, but now americans says a combination of wear, poor design, and possibly even spilled soda caused pins to come loose on those seats. all planes should be back in service by tomorrow. the susan g. komen foundation wants nothing to do with the pornographic website who launched a fund-raiser for breast cancer awareness month. they said they would donate $1 for a certain number of views in october. the foundation will not accept the donations. it also asked the website to stop using its name. a new study says there are fewer abortions among women

given access to free birth control. researchers offered women contraceptives like birth control pills, patches, and iuds. these women had substantially fewer unplanned pregnancies and up to 70% fewer abortions. teens given birth control had an annual birth rate more than five times lower than the national average. debates are'happening all over the country. tomorrow two men square off in a debate that will not decide any election at all. jon stewart and bill o'reilly will face off in the debate being called the rumble in the air conditioned auditorium. it's at george washington university. the two hope to take an entertaining and comedic approach to the pressing issues in our country today. you can watch the live stream of that event online for $5. beekeepers in eastern france are noticing a bizarre new trend. the honey their bees are producing is changing color to dark green or dark blue.

the keepers followed the bees and noticed them carrying colorful candy back to the hives. they believe the bees are taking food from an m&m candy plant down the road. the company says it will clean out the waste containers and store products in air tight containers out of reach of the hungry bees. >> those bees are like you, can't resist the m&m's. >> you show me an m&m, and i'm going to eat it. do you think the honey tastes like m&m's? i would eat it. time for weather and traffic on the ones. >> tom kierein shows us what to expect today. >> how about the milky way? we can see that overhead in a clear sky. a live view from our hd 4 city camera showing the washington monument and jefferson memorial under this clear sky. we've had the lower humidity moving in overnight. it will be in place here throughout the day. so enjoy. an absolutely spectacular autumn day. we've got individual trees at peak color here locally. it is at peak color now.

out in western maryland, much of west virginia into western pennsylvania. temperatures in a few locations. these areas in blue have dipped down into the 40s. the darker green areas in the 50s. that covers most of maryland and virginia. it's in the 50s this morning. right in the metro area, 50s near the bay and atlantic beaches. here's the storm team 4 four-day forecast. a delightful friday, low humidity, afternoon highs climbing into the low 80s, lots of sun. clear tonight if you're going out. 60s by midnight. 50s by dawn tomorrow and saturday. a little sun in the morning, but quickly clouding up and highs reaching maybe the mid-70s, perhaps near 80 in a few locations saturday afternoon. and then saturday, late afternoon into early evening, might get a passing shower. chilly rain likely on sunday. what a change. highs only in the 50s. a chilly start to the day. >> good morning. i'm tracking breaking news coming out of arlington. a crash there is blocking all

your lanes on south glebe road, and it's closed from south hayes street to south joyce street. it's expected to be closed throughout the morning. even, if you're making the commute, your closures between south hayes to south joyce street. let's head over to the beltway, crossing the wilson bridge in both directions. your volume is light. not seeing any accidents there. you look around the beltway to the american legion bridge, looks like no accidents to report as you make your way across the american legion bridge on the inner loop as well as the outer loop, nice and clear. as you make your way inbound and outbound, nice and clear. i'm back in ten. aaron, over to you. riders who use the dupont metro station won't have to contend with broken escalators any longer. by the end of the month, they'll reopen the south entrance to the station which has been closed for nearly eight months.

in the past, dupont's escalators have been known to be the least reliable in the whole system. long holiday weekends usually mean lots of track work for metro, but this time you are in luck. crews will only be working on two lines. red line, crews will single track between judiciary square and ft. totten. on the orange line, trains will share the track between stadium-armory and cheverly. that work starts at 10:00 tonight, and just remember it will last through monday because monday is a holiday. everything should be back to normal tuesday morning. today the baltimore orioles look to keep their season alive. they're already in texas preparing for the wild card playoff game against the texas rangers tonight. the winner moves on to play the yankees while the loser goes home. the o's made a push to challenge for the division crown, which ultimately went to new york. rangers enter on a losing streak, having dropped 9 of their last 13 games. first pitch at 8:37. bad news for nhl fans.

the first two weeks of the season are cancelled. the league made the announcement yesterday. owners and players are still locked in a battle over how to split $3 billion in revenue. there have been negotiations by both sides in recent days, but indications are they are no closer to a deal. the league did not say if the games could be made up if an agreement is reached soon. one of the smithsonian's most popular artifacts is going on a journey overseas. the ruby red slippers that actress judy garland wore in the wizard of oz are being sent to london on a special exhibit on hollywood costumes. the shoes will be shown with dorothy's blue and white beginnigingham dress. ka curators say it's the first time the shoes and dress have been together since the film was made in 1939. the shoes will return home next year. this year d.c. foodies will be able to take part in two major food festival. taste of d.c. will kick off

tomorrow. more than 50 restaurants are taking part in the festival on pennsylvania avenue between the white house and the capitol. and ben's chili bowl will host its chili eating championship. as a precaution, police will shut down roads surrounding the event starting at 7:00. admission is $10. all restaurants have at least one taste item for $3 or less. tomorrow also marks the 23rd annual taste of bethesda. more than 60 restaurants are taking part in the event in woodmont triangle. admission is free. tickets sold on site in bundles of four tickets for $5. >> a lot of food to be eaten. all day sort of thing if you go out. >> lots of good food in the area too. >> the time is 5:26. coming up, the spotlight back on the old dominion as mitt romney and president obama fight for votes in virginia.

good morning. i'm eun yang. >> and i'm aaron gilchrist.

welcome back to news 4 today on this friday, october 5th. let's go straight to melissa mollet at the live news desk. that scene in israel where police say they shot and killed a 20-year-old tourist there. he was part of an exchange program, and he was recently fired from the hotel. the argument started in the kitchen of the leonardo hotel. he reportedly snatched the security guard's gun and shot one man in his 50s. the suspect was later killed by a counterterrorism unit. we'll pass along more information as it comes into the news room. >> thank you, melissa. we are in for a spectacular day today, little chilly but not complaining. >> it's certainly feeling like autumn. we got rid of that summer sticky humidity we've had the last couple of days. overnight, it really did turn a lot less humid. for your morning commute, we'll have a clear sky. bright venus now rising in the

eastern sky, and the moon and jupiter, they are in the southern sky now. by 7:00 a.m., we'll have the temperatures still gen suburbs l areas to near 60 right by washington. by noontime for your lunch hour, just delightful, sunshine, low humidity. we'll have temperatures into the mid-70s by noontime. and then a wonderful afternoon coming up. by late afternoon, in which you're heading back home from work and school, we'll have temperatures back down into the upper 70s after we peak in the low 80s by midafternoon. i'll be back with a hometown forecast in ten minutes. and we have danella now with a look at your first 4 traffic on this friday morning. danella, how are things looking now? >> still keeping an eye on the situation as you travel along south glebe road. your closure right now is in between south hayes street to south joyce street.

southbound lanes should open in about an hour. northbound is expected to be shut down because of the crash until about noon today. let's head over right now to i-270 as you make your way past 124. i have report of an accident as you head southbound and possibly blocking your lane. i'll be back in ten minutes with an update on that accident. eun, over to you. >> danella, thanks so much. decision 2012 comes to virginia today as both candidates look to lock down votes in that swing state. it could be overshadowed by a new jobs report. nbc's brian mooar has the latest from capitol hill. >> reporter: the target date has jobs created last month less than stellar, and it won't be enough to hold the unemployment rate down. it will tick up from 8.1% to 8.2%. not great news for either of the political parties at this point. both are trying to make the argument that they are the party, that they are the leader. president obama or mitt romney will be the person to get this economy back on track.

>> the president is trying to convince people he's doing real well. he is not. >> it's not a plan for our economy. it's not a plan to strengthen the middle class. it is not change. it is a relapse. and we're not going to do it. >> reporter: so for president obama, the challenge today is explaining these numbers in the context of slow but steady recovery, more needed for mitt romney? the obvious, more of the same that america cannot handle, cannot afford. economists will tell you that this is not really great news, that it is a continuation of a trend we've been seeing for months. eun, the big thing, the next jobs report comes out just four days before the election. >> very important. brian mooar live on capitol hill for us. brian, thank you. if mitt romney did gain an advantage from his debate performance wednesday, he had the biggest tv audience in more than two decades watching at that point. the nielsen ratings company says an estimated 67.2 million people

tuned in for the debate. that's the largest audience for a tv debate since bill clinton, george bush, and ross perot faced off in 1992. the largest performance from four years ago was between joe biden and sarah palin. that attracted nearly 70 million viewers. democrat tim kaine has more campaign money than his republican challenger. the former governor raised $4.5 million between july and september. that's compared to $3.5 million for george allen whorb, who is former virginia governor. allen has about $11 million on hand. this morning a prince william county woman is accused of operating an illegal daycare. she ran the daycare out of her home unlicensed on summerworth drive in manassas. police say she left six children all under 2 years old in the care of her 16-year-old daughter. three children were alone in a

separate room. child protective services say angeline often made her teen watch the children for long hours. this makes ten years since the start of the beltway sniper attacks. ten people were killed and three others injured in the terrifying weeks. community members and families of the victims gathered in gaithersbu gaithersburg. it included members of the human rights foundation, which brings together families ripped apart by violent crimes. >> we're here to celebrate the lives of those that were killed and those who were wounded ten years ago by two awful men. we also are here to give thanks for their life, to let their families know that we will never forget them, that we love them, and that we are still here. >> the victims rights foundation has helped raise more than $500,000 for the families of the attacks.

a federal judge will issue a ruling soon on whether metro will have to allow a controversial anti-jihad ad on buses. metro delayed putting the ads up because of the violent reaction in the middle east to the innocence of muslims movie. the transit agency says it wants to protect the safety of its riders and employees. this is a look at the ad from the american freedom defense initiative. the group says metro is violating the first amendment by not putting the ad on display. the fairfax county school system is applying for the department of education's race to the top grant. that's according to "the washington post." the grant is worth $40 million. the funds would be spent upon schools where more than 40% of the students receive free or reduced lunches. the race to the top deadline is at the end of the month. the winners will be announced at the end of the year. 5:36 is the time. making themselves at home. the animal invasion that has people in one virginia community asking for help this morning.

"and what's your name?" "oh, it's flo." "and what do you do?" "oh, i sell insurance like no one else." "oh, that's nice." "thank you." now, that's progressive. call or click today. the d.c. action for children's luncheon to celebrate

and announce its new interactive e-data book, which allows people to get information on fighting child poverty. it's amazing because the map's online. you can scroll over the wards and the schools and show exactly where children are in need and the graduation rates. it's very helpful in the fight against child poverty. 30% of children living in the city are living in poverty, and 1 in 4, which is 25%, are living in distressed neighborhoods. they don't have libraries, lacking grocery stores. this tool is going to help communities, nonprofits. >> can't fix the problem until you know how to tackle it. >> exactly. >> tom kierein has a look at our forecast. as we approach 5:41, we've got a clear sky, moon and jupiter in the southern sky. venus rising. hometown forecast, great falls, fairfax county. still a chill in the air at 7:00 a.m. with bright sun. noon hour, mostly sunny, upper 70s. low humidity throughout the day today, hour by hour.

delightful day coming up. highs reaching low 80s by midafternoon. big changes on the way for the weekend. details on that in ten minutes. danella, how's traffic? i'm tracking breaking news on the roadway. first, let's start in springfield, virginia. along rolling road. rolling road is closed at delong drive with a crash there. let's head over to arlington update. now your southbound lanes of south glebe road, they're open. northbound still shut down. this is between south hayes street all the way to south joyce street. it's going to be closed until noon today. aaron and eun? >> thank you, danella. now 5:41. 64 degrees. still to come, pain for students at the university of maryland as unwelcomed guests make themselves at home in their dorm rooms.

students at the university of maryland say the bed bugs are back and causing major problems in their rooms. one student showed us bites and marks from the bugs. students who live in south campus commons number 7 say they've complained to management about the pest problem. the company who owns the building says it's hired exterminators to deal with the problem, but for now students have to deal with those bugs every night. >> nothing we can do. they haven't offered for us to live anywhere else. so we've got to live out of garbage bags and get bitten every night, which is unfortunate. >> what can you do now? >> i guess all we can do is wait. they haven't given us any other option. >> the building's management sent out a letter to students living there, saying they tested for bed bugs before the semester started and advise students to fill out a maintenance request if they find more bed bugs in their rooms. and an arlington community is begging someone to do something about raccoons that's taken over their apartment

complex. one frustrated homeowner sent us these pictures after complaining to management and the city. neighbors sarah cooy the raccoo caused property damage, could have rabies, and are forcing them to stay inside. >> you can't be outdoors. you have a pet, you can't let him out. you can't even have a barbecue. you can't do anything outside. once it gets dark, you've got to stay in. >> homeowners say the raccoons have been a problem for about two years. they believe the animals keep returning because someone is feeding them. a truck driver is challenging details against him in a crash that killed a gaithersburg family. joseph sleezak is charged with homicide and vehicular manslaughter after a crash last month in nebraska. the family was relocating to california. the mother, diana schmidt, was three months pregnant. prosecutors say he drove for 14 hours without a break before that accident.

his attorney argues there's not evidence to bring it to trial. a man jumps from a burning three-story building in northwest washington. the fire broke out outside an apartment complex at "k" and first street at 6:00. it left part of the building scorched outside. we're told the victim jumped before firefighters arrived. crews had to rescue three others trapped. they're also in the hospital and are expected to be okay. the cause of the fire is under investigation. this morning police are investigating an alleged sexual assault involving a d.c. jail guard. an inmate claims the assault happened back in august. a spokesperson for the d.c. department of corrections confirmed the investigation, but she would not confirm the gender of the inmate or the guard, nor would she comment on the guard's current work status. water bills could be going up soon in montgomery and prince george's counties, but how much is the question. both are working with the washington suburban sanitary commission to establish a new budget for the water agency. the utility company says it

might need to raise rates by 9.5%. in montgomery county, they can speak out about the proposed rate increase on tuesday. the final decision on the water budget will not be made until spring. bethesda residents sounded off at the navy's first public hearing about expansion plans at walter reed and how it might affect traffic. that's according to the "washington examiner." the navy plans to demolish five buildings and replace them with two buildings and two parks garages. the changes would only add 270 staff to the campus and about 17 seconds to the commuters' drive time on rockville pike between grosvenor lane and woodmont. but residents say they need to do more studies on traffic flow before adding more people to the mix. and scaffolding collapses leaving a construction worker dangling. rescue workers had to use tall ladder trucks to reach the man outside the xhecommerce buildinn pennsylvania avenue. no one was hurt. firefighters were washington

state are struggling to contain a massive 15 square mile wildfire. the fire has already burned several homes and is threatening at least 100 more. the fire started yesterday. investigators are trying to figure out what caused the fire. fire crews are sending bulldozers to try to create fire lines. washington has extended a statewide burn ban until october 15th. the wild weather continues in the midwest. in just a few weeks it went from unbearably hot to snow falling in north dakota. wind gusts blew through the state as high as 40 miles per hour. this is not normal weather for the state. officials say there is a 5% chance of snow during the first week of october. that is crazy business out there. >> crazy stuff. i was thinking, tom, i know fall is that transition time. we're doing, what, we had 80 degrees the other day, and sunday you're looking at 50 something for a high? >> it does look like it's only going to be in the 50s and chilly rain on sunday. meanwhile, while you guys were at nats park on wednesday, here's where i was. i was talking to these budding

meteorologists at the steadwick elementary school in montgomery county. look at these bright and happy faces. we had a lot of fun talking about all different kinds of weather. these are kindergarteners, and they already had a unit on weather. they knew a lot. it was a lot of fun. i want to thank teacher kristen poole who's there on the left in the background who invited me to talk to all these wonderful students. talked to over 100 kindergarteners there at the steadwick elementary school in montgomery county. school season is under way. as we take a look at temperatures around this morning, it's down into the low to mid-50s. much of maryland and virginia and right near the bay, it's a bit milder, in the upper 50s and low 60s. much of that region. but shenandoah valley west is where some of the cooler air is out of the highlands of western maryland and west virginia where they have peak autumn color now. it's only around 50 degrees to even the low to mid-40s, and a few of the isolated deeper

valleys farther west. and in montgomery, arlington, fairfax, prince george's counties now, we're just in the low 50s here predawn. in the southern sky, moon and jupiter, eastern sky. venus is now rising in this clear sky. for your morning commute, sunrise 7:08. and by then, under this clear sky, we'll still be in the 50s to around 60. then for your lunch hour, big warmup. we'll be into the mid and upper 70s. low humidity, lots of sun. during the afternoon we'll peak in the low 80s by midafternoon. then the big changes start to move in saturday afternoon. before then, increasing clouds, mid-70s. and maybe a passing shower as a front comes in behind that front, much chillier weather moving in. by dawn sunday, near 50. chilly rain off and on sunday morning into sunday afternoon. with highs only in the upper 50s on sunday. all the way down to near 40 on monday morning. sunny monday, highs just around 60. a bit milder midweek.

might get a shower or two on wednesday. i'm back in ten minutes. danella with your first 4 traffic this friday morning. tom, still checking breaking news early this friday morning. here's what's going on. rolling road is closed at delong drive. the accident there has resulted in downed wires across the road. also checking things out northbound south glebe road. that's closed until about noon today from south hayes street to south joyce street. and also, if you're traveling along i-95, nice in virginia. really nice. making your way northbound from lorton as you make your way all the way to the interchange. the travel lanes are open. not seeing any accident or major volume. aaron, over to you. >> thank you, danella. some changes could soon be -- all right. let's go out to tony tull. >> reporter: hey, guys, good morning. we're at south glebe road. the accident that danella was just talking about. you can see right there the power pole is snapped in half due to an earlier car accident this morning.

police say that young lady was driving her car on northbound glebe road when she lost control and hit the power pole. right now they're saying she was not under the influence. she's not facing any charges. but she will probably have to pay for this power pole here. dominion is on scene. the power is still on. the wires are still live. pretty dangerous situation going on now. a lot of people in this area still have their power. they will be shutting it down in just a few minutes to start repairing that pole. southbound glebe road is open. northbound is going to be closed until about noon when they say they can get that power pole out of there and get the new one back in the ground, get these wires attached to the new pole, and then get the power back on. again, if you're heading down this way, make sure that you use alternate routes. we're live in arlington. tony tull, news 4. >> tony, thank you. some changes could soon be coming to your local starbucks. the coffee shop testing new items, including warmed pastries like a blueberry yogurt muffin

or a ham and cheese croissant. these are part of starbucks new purchase, la boulange, a french bakery chain. the fair oaks mall installed a free body scanners called -- i have trouble with this, aaron. >> meality. >> it used radio waves to size you up in a few seconds, and then shoppers get a list of the most flattering sizes and cuts to buy in the mall. most people we spoke to say the machine is helpful. >> i've been walking around this mall for like two hours trying to find pants for work. just go right to them, get what i need. >> the body scanners will eventually be added to the malls in bethesda and in wheaton. >> i like that idea. 5:54 is our time right now. embarrassment for sony, which is stopping the sale of its latest tablet.

cnbc's shartia brantley joins us with the latest on that and other headlines. sony has halted sales of its new experia tablet, which it launched in the u.s. just a month ago. it discovered a gap between the device's screen and case that could make it susceptible to water damage. sony has been touting the experia has water resistant. the company hasn't said when it may restart sales. the experia is the latest entrant in the crowded tablet market, dominated by the apple ipad. and mortgages continue to drop to lows just weeks after the fed decided to buy up billions of home loans each month to help boost the economy. freddie mac says the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage is now 3.36%. and more rates have sparked a surge in refinancing. the mortgage bankers association says they jumped 20% in the past week alone. >> shartia brantley at cnbc. thank you.

take a look at this face. the san diego zoo's cutest new resident now able to hear and see more, apparently. the zoo's 9 week old giant panda cub has had an exam. this was yesterday morning. i guess they're looking for teeth there. veterinarians say his eyes and ears are fully open. the cub was born on july 29th. he now weighs 6.6 pounds. he looks bigger than that to me. the cub has not yet been named. his name will be announced in 100 days after birth as dictated by chinese tradition. >> for many asian cultures, 100 days is a big date. >> still doesn't look real. >> they're so cute. >> kind of funny looking. >> i want to take him home with me. >> don't do that. sure, your dog can sit and stay and roll over. >> but can your dog dial a phone? this is what maya, a 4-year-old lab, did a few days ago. her owner bruce gardner got a call from his home phone. he heard scratches and noises

and thought he was being robbed. police went to his house and didn't see any burglars or anything stolen. it turns out the culprit was maya. >> in the midst of chewing on it, it happened to hit redial, called the man's cell phone, and then the dog buried the phone in the garden. >> i could hear the ring. i started going towards the sound, and i found it out here in the garden. >> gardner says he was relieved that he wasn't being robbed, but he's learned his lesson and won't be leaving anything out in the open that maya could grab. i wonder what else she could do? make coffee? >> he could turn this into a training opportunity and really capitalize on this one. ahead, mitt romney admitting he made a mistake. plus breaking news overseas this morning. an american suspected of shooting inside an israeli hotel. [ male announcer ] for the dreamers...

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